Johnny Cueto, Cole Hamels and Justin Upton are viewed as the holy trinity of the upcoming trade market. They currently project as the most talented players almost certain to be dealt to contenders before 4 p.m. on July 31.

Big-game hunting history will be cited as why the Yankees should not be counted out on any of the major pieces.

But if history is our guide, the Yankees only have made one trade in the past 10 Julys that involved them giving up an elite prospect — and that trade did not even get consummated. In early July 2010, the Yankees agreed to include Jesus Montero as the key piece of a three-prospect deal with Seattle for Cliff Lee. But one of the secondary cogs, David Adams, did not pass the Mariners’ physical review, the Yankees refused to include Eduardo Nunez or Ivan Nova in his place and Lee ultimately was moved to Texas.

Besides that, Brian Cashman has followed a similar script in July: 1) Think about deepening/strengthening the overall roster rather than swinging big for superstars; 2) Use the Yankees’ financial might to take on contracts that other teams want to get rid of and, in exchange, lower the prospect asking price; 3) Part with prospects from areas of perceived organizational depth.

Phillies ace Cole HamelsAP

Last July was essentially a road map. The Yankees deployed all or some combination of those principles to land Brandon McCarthy, Chase Headley, Martin Prado and Stephen Drew. But go through the last decade. It is the same process, whether the haul was Alfonso Soriano or Ichiro Suzuki or Lance Berkman or Kerry Wood or Bobby Abreu. The closest the Yankees have come to actually dealing a well-regarded prospect was in July 2008 when they obtained Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte from Pittsburgh and included in return Jose Tabata. But by then Tabata had lost some luster in the Yankees organization, getting leap-frogged as an outfield prospect by Austin Jackson.

I suspect the Yankees will follow this playbook again this month and make small trade or no trades at all. Because without serious injury, the Yankees do not have an area of urgency that must be addressed, and even if you think, for example, another starter is an urgent matter, the Yankees have committed themselves to not falling down the Phillies sinkhole by continuously mortgaging tomorrow to invest in today.

I do not sense Hal Steinbrenner has the financial tolerance to add the $73.5 million Hamels is owed from 2016 to 2018, in part because with a 50 percent luxury-tax penalty, that is $110.25 million for the Yankees. Also, Hamels, Cueto, Upton and even Jeff Samardzija — if the suddenly surging White Sox become sellers — will demand top prospects in return. All but Hamels are free agents after this season, and I have heard nothing from a Yankees person to suggest the team will cede what it views as its high-end prospects for a rental.

Top Yankees pitching prospect Luis SeverinoCharles Wenzelberg

The Yankees are particularly protective of arguably their four best prospects: starter Luis Severino, right fielder Aaron Judge, first baseman Greg Bird (who are all at Triple-A) and shortstop Jorge Mateo (Single-A). I thought the Yankees might be aggressive with Double-A catcher Gary Sanchez because Brian McCann is in Year 2 of a five-year contract and the organization seems comfortable with John Ryan Murphy as the backup.

However, the organization believes Sanchez has elevated his maturity and catching skills, and he is more than holding his own as a hitter with a .788 OPS at age 22 in the Eastern League, where the average age of players is 2½ years older. Outside executives have said they see some of the upgrades, but many still question if Sanchez has the temperament and skills to be a full-time major league catcher.

Obviously, if Masahiro Tanaka grabs his elbow or Michael Pineda reaches for his shoulder, the Yankees could change their focus. But I think the only way the Yankees use quality chips to obtain an arm is if they imagine him starting one of the first three games of a playoff series. Aside from the big-cost guys, perhaps the only pitcher who fits that criterion and could be had is Seattle’s free-agent-to-be Hisashi Iwakuma, who before his last start had been injured and/or lousy this season.

If the Yankees did trade for a starter, they would likely have to put CC Sabathia or Nathan Eovaldi in the pen, which they don’t seem anxious to do.

Padres outfielder Justin Upton is in the final year of his contract.AP

The Yankees could use an upgrade at second base. But the market at that position is thin — aside from winning the trade bidding for Oakland’s Ben Zobrist — and the organization plans on seeing whether Rob Refsnyder can bring some much-needed batting average to the lineup. The Yankees could look to add a righty reliever to deepen the pen in front of Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller, perhaps someone such as San Diego’s Joaquin Benoit.

The Yankees will hope when Carlos Beltran returns from his oblique injury he is the hitter he was when he posted an .840 OPS from May 1 to June 30, his last game before going on the DL . If not, they would have to see an alternative as an upgrade on a Garrett Jones/Chris Young platoon. In this area, they would prioritize a rental because the Yankees want to keep right field open in 2016 for Judge.

Then the question will be if pieces from positions in which the Yankees are deep will have enough value on the market. They have four areas in particular from which I think they would sell:

1. Lefty-hitting outfielders. The Yankees have Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner signed long-term plus four others close to the majors with similar profiles — lefties whose strengths are hitting for average, speed and defense: Jake Cave, Ramon Flores, Slade Heathcott and Mason Williams. All have to be protected this offseason, and I cannot imagine the Yankees having six outfielders of this ilk clogging their 40-man roster.

Available righty reliever Joaquin Benoit of the PadresAP

2. Righty relief. The Yanks have a bunch of big arms, most of whom have not done well in major league cameos this season, such as Danny Burawa, Branden Pinder, Jose Ramirez and Nick Rumbelow. Again, it would help 40-man roster management to thin this herd.

3. Lefty relief. With Chasen Shreve, Justin Wilson and Miller doing well in the majors and all under control for years, the Yankees have Jacob Lindgren (due back from the DL by September), James Pazos and Tyler Webb close to major league-ready.

4. Righty starters with contract control beyond this year. If the Yankees were looking to really upgrade, I could see them offering up Eovaldi, Warren or Ivan Nova, believing the two who remain plus Severino, Bryan Mitchell and Brady Lail (1.44 ERA in his last 11 starts at Double-A) are close to helping. For example, an Eovaldi/Sanchez/Williams package could put them in play for a significant controllable position player.